Knitting machine



Feb. 16,1926. 1,572,993

H. FQRSTER KNITTING momma Filed March 20, .1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 QzMMFeb. 16 1926. 1,572,993

H. FORSTER KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1925 4 SheetsSheet 5five/2X02".-

Feb. 16,1926. 1,572,993

H. FORSTER v KNITTING momma Filed marcnzo, 1925 4 she' ts-sheet 4Patented Feb. 16, 1926.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Application filed March 20, 1925. Serial No. 17,075.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that .I,IHANs FiiRs'rnn, a

citizen of the German Republic, and 1'esident of Nieder Zwonitz,Erzgebirge, Germany, have invented a new and useful Improvement'inKnitting Machines, of which the following is. a specification.

'My invention relates to knitting machines and .is especiallyvintended 1for use in connection with flat knitting machines such as are employedin making stockings. More particularly the invention concerns an antomatic device for performing the welting of the fabric upon flatknitting machines. It has already been proposed to move the meanscarrying the initial row of loops in a guide-way in such a manner thatfirst the fabric-portion forming the welt is made which is then-conveyedto the frame needles.

My invention differs from machines of this kind in that the carrier ofthe initial row of loops is transferred to horizontally swinging arms ofa frame and is caught in recesses 'of said arms whereafter these lat:ter are turned into vertical position and the frame with the suspendedcarrier is moved.

again towards the frame needles. In the end position the welting isautomatically performed by lowering while the fabric is placed upon theframe.

My invention is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example inthe accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of apart of a knitting machine according to this invention; Figure 2 is across-section therethrough; Figures 3-7 are detail views on an enlargedscale showing the manner of forming the welt; Figure 8 is a perspectiveview of certain parts of the' additional frame drawn also on an enlargedscale; and Figures 9-13 are detail views showing the mechanism forforming the welt.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 denotes arms arranged to swing in verticalplanes. The lower ends of said arms are hinged to levers 3 fulcrumed at3 to the machine'frame 22. Each lever 3 carries at its free end a roll3" running upon a cam 4 secured to a shaft 4 also supported in themachine frame 22. The arms 1 can be moved up and down by cams 4, and mayalso be swung forward and rearward by cams 6 and coiled springs?respectively. The cams 6 are fixed to a shaft 5 carried by the frame 22,and the springs 7 constantly hold the arms 1 in are located on the.inner side.

contact with said cams 6. 'Each' of the arms l is provided with. a roll1 arranged at the point of contact with the appertaining cam 6. The arms1 are shown inFig. 2

in two different positions. in v full and dotted lines, respectivel Theupper en s of the arms l are con- 1 nectedby ahorizontal bar 2:,havingdown- 1 wardly extending short arms 10 arranged at rig t angles tosaidbar and forming the connecting members with the said arms 1.

" The shaft 5 carrying the cams'6 is turned in any suitable .manner byaratchet device or the like which is under the control of apattern-chain orthe'like. v

The arrangement of the arms 1 relatively to the needles 8 is suchthatthe pivots 3 lie about vertically below the needles 8, .and thearrangement of the bar 2jrelatively tothe jack sinkers 9 is such thatthe hinges connecting the short-arms 10 to the long arms 1 lie belowsaid sinkers. When the arms 1 are. in the vertical position and the armsThe short arms 10- may be con led to the arms 1 by awls 12 attached to tiearms 10 and capab' e of engaging suitably/arranged notches in thearms 1. 4 Upon a table 14 take up hooks-15 arearranged at both sides ofevery set or division. These hooks are actuated by coiled springs 16. Inthese-hooks 15 the rods 17 are held as will be seen best in Fig. 7

Each of the arms 10 has in its upper face at the rear side a recess 18,Figs. 3-6. With regard to each set or division said recesses Each recess18 is undercut at 19 as best seen in Fig. 3

and-the width of said recesses 18 corresponds the holder 11 which isprovided with latch needles is hun holder 11 is guided y the arms 10 theositions of which at the commencement 0 the work is shown in Fig. 3. Theholder 11 is connected with the take up roller 20 by a band 23 (Fi 3-5).The take up roller eccentric 6 into the position shown in full lines inFig. 6, so that the arms 10 will also be in the position shown in fulllines. Now the rods 17 are put upon the fabric and the hooks 15 arebrought in position whereupon by means of pressure or tension the arms1,

are turned upwards and rearwards as indicated by the arrow 3 so that theholder 11 is caught in the undercuts 19 of the recesses 18. The hook 15which by means of the spring 16 pulls awayfrom the set or division isthereby attracted and the normal take up is interrupted. By means of theeccentric 6 and the spring 7 the arms 1 are then swung again towards theframe needles 8, and by the further work the welt receives the necessarylength until the arms 1 occupy their vertical position in front of theframe needles.

If now by the downward movement of the lever 3 upon the cam 4 the frameformed by the arms 1, 2 and 10 is lowered the holder 11 carrying theneedles arrives between the knock over sinkers which now move the loopsover the tongues of the needles, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Thelowered frame-needles then rise again and enter into the loops of themeshes arranged upon the shafts of the comb-needles, whereas the risingcomb needles leave the loops (Figs. 12 and 13). From this moment thework proceeds in the normal manner.

I claim:

1. In a flat knitting machine means for forming the welt comprising incombination: upwardly extending arms arranged to swing in verticalplanes; short arms hinged to said swingable arms, a needle holderarranged to slide upon said short. arms; and means for moving all saidarms forward and rearward, as well as up and down. up

2. In a flat knitting machine means for formin the welt comprising incombination: upwar ly extending arms arranged to swing in verticalplanes; short arms hinged to the free ends of said swingable arms andhavrecesses in their rear sides; a needle ho der arranged to slide uponthe said short into the loops.- The arms and capable .ofentering intotheir, re-

cesses; a horizontal bar connecting said upwardly extending arms withone another, and means for moving all arms and said horizontal barforward and rearward, as well as up and down.

3. In a flat knitting machine means for formin the welt comprising incombination: upwar ly extending arms arranged to swing in verticalplanes; short arms hinged to said swingable arms, a needle holderarranged to slide upon said short arms; pawls'secured to the said shortarms and arranged to enter into suitably located recesses of thefirstmentioned arms; and means for moving all said arms forward andrearward, as well as up and down. 1

4. In a flat knitting machine means for forming the welt comprising incombination: upwardly extending arms arranged to swing in verticalplanes; short arms hinged to said swingable arms and having recesses intheir rear or upper sides; a needle holder arranged to slide upon saidshort arms and to enter into .said recesses; and means for movin allsaid arms forward and rearward, as wel? as up and down.

5. In a flat knitting machine means for forming the welt comprising incombination: upwardly extending arms arranged to swing in verticalplanes; short arms hinged to said swingable arms, a needle holderarranged to slide upon said short arms; pawls secured to the said shortarms and arranged to enter into suitably located recesses of thefirst-mentioned arms; a horizontal bar connecting said upwardlyextending arms with one another and means for moving all said armsforward and rearward, as well as up and down.

6. In a. flat knitting machine means for forming the welt comprising incombination:

practically horizontal levers hinged to the arms hinged to the saidlevers and arranged -to swing in vertical planes; short arms hinged tothe said swingable arms, a needle holder arranged to slide upon saidshort arms, and means arranged to move all said arms forward andrearward substantially as setforth.

HANS FORSTER.

